Northern Michigan University’s Brian Parzych goes up for a layup during the Wildcats’ men’s basketball game against Purdue Northwest on Thursday at Vandament Arena in Marquette. (Photo courtesy NMNU)

MARQUETTE — Defense is supposed to win championships, but apparently it can also win conference openers.

The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team clamped down on a high-flying Purdue Northwest team for a 70-54 victory at Vandament Arena on Thursday evening.

In Vandament’s first-ever GLIAC men’s game, the Wildcats corralled a Pride offense that was averaging over 87 points per game.

NMU improved to 5-2 overall after keeping Purdue NW (2-5) under 30 points each half. Northern had a modest halftime lead, 29-25, before pulling away in the final 20 minutes.

The Pride shot just 34% from the field (19 of 56), including 27% on 3-pointers (7 of 26). Meanwhile, the Wildcats made 41% from the floor (24 of 59).

NMU also made eight steals that led to 14 Purdue NW turnovers, led by Gerald Gittens Jr. making three swipes and Brian Parzych two. And the Wildcats blocked six shots, including three by Sam Privet and two by Jackson Dudek.

The Wildcats had balanced scoring, Dylan Kuehl leading the way with 16 points as he made 6 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 2 on triples. He also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists, found time to block a shot and didn’t commit a turnover in 38 minutes court time.

Parzych added 14 points, making 5 of 9 shots, with three assists, while teammate Julien Smith had 12 points, making 5 of 7 free throws, four rebounds and two assists.

Gittens added eight points, including a pair of 3s, while Biggie Luster lead Northern rebounders with nine.

PNW’s Jailen Nelson led all scorers with 20 points.

The teams traded the lead a half-dozen times in the first half before Northern took the lead for good, 28-25, with a Gittens 3 just eight seconds before intermission. NMU made it 29-25 at halftime after Smith made a free throw a few seconds later.

The Wildcats quickly asserted themselves to open the second half, expanding their advantage to double digits, 36-26, after Gittens made a pair of free throws with 17:44 left.

The lead expanded to 16 points, 46-30, after a Gittens triple with 14:04 to go, though the Pride worked it back to single digits. They got as close as eight points, 51-43, with 9:57 to go after a Nelson jumper.

NMU worked the yo-yoing lead back to its advantage down the stretch, taking its biggest lead of 19 points, 68-49, when Privet made a layup with 2:13 remaining.

Northern completes its conference-opening weekend at home with a 2 p.m. game today against Wisconsin-Parkside. The Rangers (2-5) lost at Michigan Tech 80-54 on Thursday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.